The Independent Commissioner Against Corruption (ICAC) works to guard against improper conduct in the Northern Territory Government (NTG), local councils and other public bodies.
The Commissioner has a number of functions under the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption Act 2017 (the ICAC Act).
The ICAC Act enables the Commissioner to investigate the most serious, systemic and sensitive improper conduct.
Those functions are:
- identifying and investigating improper conduct
- providing guidance to public bodies on protecting people who detect or respond to improper conduct
- preventing, detecting, and responding to improper conduct by:
- providing education and training
- evaluating or reviewing practices, policies and procedures of public bodies and public officers
- preparing reports, information and recommendations relating to improper conduct
- referring matters to other organisations for action
- making public comment
- gathering intelligence about improper conduct
- overseeing and directing how other organisations deal with matters the Commissioner refers to them
- performing other functions set out in legislation.
Improper conduct can involve corrupt conduct, misconduct, unsatisfactory conduct or anti-democratic conduct.
The ICAC Act primarily empowers the Commissioner to investigate alleged cases of corrupt conduct and anti-democratic conduct and enables the Commissioner to refer cases of misconduct and unsatisfactory conduct to referral entities to investigate.
You can read more about improper conduct.
The Commissioner is independent. No one can tell the Commissioner how to perform the functions required, including who to investigate or how to investigate.
The Commissioner can investigate alleged improper conduct in:
- NTG agencies
- local government councils
- Northern Territory Police
- courts
- any board, commission, tribunal or other body established under an Act that has judicial or quasi-judicial functions in the performance of its deliberative functions
- a body, whether incorporated or not, established under an Act
- a body whose members, or a majority of whose members, are appointed by the NT Administrator or a minister
- government owned corporations
- nursing homes
- public hospitals
- universities, including Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education
- any other body, whether incorporated or not, that:
- receives, directly or indirectly, public resources or
- performs a public function on behalf of the Territory, a public body or a public officer (whether under contract or otherwise).
The Commissioner can:
- investigate and make findings of improper conduct
- refer alleged improper conduct to another body to deal with
- provide a brief of evidence to a law enforcement agency
- evaluate or review the practices, policies or procedures of public bodies
- provide education to public bodies and public officers about preventing and detecting improper conduct
- prepare reports, including reports for Parliament.
The Commissioner does not deal with matters relating to:
- federal or interstate police
- Australian Government agencies
- interstate government agencies
- the private sector, if there is no connection to public administration.
The Commissioner cannot arrest someone, charge them with an offence, or direct someone to dismiss or take disciplinary action against a person.